As it happened: Billions in state budget for CopperString | Police allege Pheobe killed, then her body moved | Brisbane sweeps ‘best of’ competition

Thanks for joining us for live coverage of today’s news in Brisbane and beyond. We’ll be back on Monday morning. If you’re just catching up, here are some of the stories making news today:

Missing Queensland teenager Pheobe Bishop was allegedly murdered by her two housemates, and her body was then moved more than once, detectives believe.

The winners of Queensland Day’s “best of” competition have been announced, with Brisbane locals claiming about half the winning spots.

Tensions between Donald Trump and his former “first buddy” Elon Musk have erupted into open warfare, with the US president saying Musk has a version of “Trump derangement syndrome”.

Attracting bigger events, more business tourism and new product development will be Brisbane’s focus for the next 20 years, as the government continues to cement its plan to grow the state’s tourism industry.

Brisbane coach Michael Maguire has swung the axe with representative outside back Selwyn Cobbo dropped from the team.

And if you’re looking to level up your Thai salads and desserts, Longrain creator Martin Boetz reckons you need this simple utensil.

More than a billion dollars has been earmarked for a major Queensland energy project.

Treasurer David Janetzki announced today an additional $1.4 billion will be spent on CopperString in the state’s north over the next four years.

The budget promise brings total funding for the project to $2.4 billion.

“I believe it is a nation building project,” Janetzki said at an announcement in Townsville this morning. “We are determined to unlock that great wealth that lies in the north and north-west of our great state.”

CopperString is slated to link renewable energy zones in the state’s interior with the energy grid.

On-the-ground works will begin in the next 12 months at the $225 million Hughenden Hub. Transformers, lines and tower steel are also being procured.

The project is due to be completed in 2032. More funds will likely be required, with a total cost of almost $14 billion estimated.

A marine heatwave causing extreme heat and rainfall has enveloped Australia and stretched for 40 million square kilometres across the south-west Pacific, bringing with it sea-level rises.

The World Meteorological Organisation has confirmed 2024 was the hottest year on record in the south-west Pacific Ocean, which spans more than 10 per cent of the global ocean surface area. Sea surface temperatures were the highest on record and ocean heat content was at near-record levels in 2024.

Read the full story.

Queensland turns 166 today – which explains why we’re talking so much about Queensland’s best local haunts, food and drinks, and tourist attractions.

But when we asked Premier David Crisafulli last month whether he would consider introducing a public holiday to mark the occasion, the government skirted past the query.

Crisafulli again dodged the question when asked by 4BC’s Peter Fegan this morning, saying the anniversary would fall on a weekend across the next two years.

“I promise you this, Peter, for the next two years, you won’t have to work,” Crisafulli said.

The date marks Queensland’s independence from the colony of New South Wales in 1859.

“Of all the states that we dislike most, it’s New South Wales, and we broke free from them 166 years ago today, so I wanted to see if we could get some energy going,” Crisafulli said.

The winners of Queensland’s state-sponsored ‘best of’ competition have been announced, with Brisbane locals claiming about half of the winning spots.

While no awards are going to those who guessed the state’s best landmark would be the Story Bridge – despite the threat of concrete chunks falling off the structure – and the Great Barrier Reef would claim honours as the top natural attraction, the list offered some surprises.

Queensland’s ‘best of’ winners

• Fish and chips – Bird’s Fish Bar (Bowen)
• Meat pie – Blackbutt Bakery (Blackbutt)
• Parmi – Botany (Newstead)
• Bahn Mi – My Street Food (Woolloongabba)
• Ice cream – Rad Rolled Ice Cream (Hervey Bay)
• Burger – Mr Jeebus (Tingalpa)
• Beer – Qld Pale Ale by Archer Brewing Company (Wilston)
• Pub – Slipstream Brewery Co (Yeerongpilly)
• Café – Dorney’s Cake Shop (Chinchilla)
• Coffee – The Coffee Commune (Bowen Hills)
• Event – India Fest (Townsville)
• Big thing – Big Mango (Bowen)
• Beach – Coolum Beach (Sunshine Coast)
• Landmark – The Story Bridge (Brisbane)
• Natural attraction – Great Barrier Reef

Perhaps most shockingly, the Ekka was passed up as the best event, with Townsville’s India Fest receiving the honour. Brisbane’s Paniyiri Greek Festival also received an honourable mention, alongside central Queensland’s Alpha races.

And with cold winter mornings finally making themselves known in the sunshine state, Brisbanites can at least breathe a sigh of relief that the best coffee is close at hand in Bowen Hills, at The Coffee Commune.

The state government also announced five “local legends” as part of its Queensland Day campaign, championing people for notable community contributions, including fundraising, natural disaster aid, and running support organisations.

Premier David Crisafulli has said the state is waiting for a response from the nurses’ union following strike threats levied yesterday over stalled EBA negotiations.

Members of the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union began wearing union T-shirts yesterday, marking the next step towards strike action against Queensland Health.

The union has already put in notice for strike action, with the date yet to be confirmed.

Premier David Crisafulli told 4BC’s Peter Fegan the government would remain firm on key health election commitments, including reducing ambulance ramping, trimming surgery waitlists, and maintaining good workplace conditions.

“Our promise was to make sure there was nation-leading pay and conditions, and the offer we put forward does do that,” Crisafulli said.

“I believe nurses should be paid more and should be well paid – the work they do is amazing … we should make sure that they get paid the most in the country.”

He said there had been “no clashes” during negotiations, and remained hopeful the workers and government would find a middle ground without further escalation.

The two housemates accused of killing Pheobe Bishop were arrested in the Bundaberg area about 7pm last night, with one of them near the police station at the time, Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield says.

“As you can appreciate, they’ve been under a level of scrutiny from the media and otherwise during this period, so they’re understandably, I wouldn’t say shocked, but they presented to us without any interference with our operations,” he says.

Mansfield says police would allege Pheobe’s body was moved once in the Good Night Scrub area.

He would not elaborate on when, or how, her body was allegedly moved.

“Those are those facts that we’ll have to rely upon before the court, I just don’t want to jeopardise any of that court process and the integrity of our investigation,” he says.

Police continue to be inundated with calls about Pheobe’s disappearance, and Mansfield says detectives would be grateful for further information that might help find the teenager in coming days.

Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield has confirmed missing Queensland teenager Pheobe Bishop moved to a property in November with the two people now accused of her murder.

He said a number of dead dogs were located at that property, in Gin Gin, near Bundaberg, after her disappearance.

“I’m unaware of the exact number,” he says.

Mansfield could not elaborate on the level of friendship between Pheobe and the two accused, Tanika Bromley and James Wood.

When asked about Pheobe’s last known movements, Mansfield says police would allege three people had arrived near Bundaberg Airport, and they never exited the vehicle.

Pheobe’s luggage, which she had packed to board a flight to Western Australia to visit her boyfriend, was yet to be found.

Mansfield says he could not speculate on the alleged motive in the case.

Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield says detectives believe Pheobe Bishop was murdered, with her body moved more than once.

“We will allege Pheobe was moved on more than one occasion,” he says.

He says Pheobe’s family are devastated by the update in the case.

Mansfield says the area police are searching is broad, and more than 100 people had been part of the team looking for her.

“If we knew where Pheobe’s body was we’d be absolutely trying to locate that right now,” he says, with investigators believing she may be found in the Gin Gin area, near Bundaberg, in Queensland’s south-east.

Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield is providing an update on the disappearance of Pheobe Bishop, after two people were charged with her murder overnight.

Pheobe was last seen on May 15, after she failed to check in for a flight at Bundaberg Airport.

Mansfield, speaking from the Bundaberg Police Station this morning, says police believe Pheobe was murdered, and then her body was moved.

“Whilst this part of this investigation has culminated in the arrest, we’re not finished with his investigation,” he said, saying additional police staff were working to find Pheoebe.

“Our focus has always been to bring Pheobe home.”

Mansfield says once police found Pheobe’s remains, they expected to find further evidence.